This volume brings together 32 papers on families and mental retardation. The papers were first published in journals of the American Association on Mental Retardation and date from 1935 through 1999. The papers are divided into four units within which the papers are presented chronologically. Essays introduce each unit. The first unit, "Historical Views of Families," consists of three papers, all from the 1930s. Second is "Family Adjustment and Coping" (11 papers), which focuses on families of children and adolescents with mental retardation and contains the traditional core of family studies: family reactions to disability, stress, adaptation and coping, social support, and recent broader conceptions of family. The third unit is "Families of Adults with Mental Retardation" (eight papers), a more recent focus of family researchers examining transition to adulthood, older adults, and adults with mental retardation as parents themselves. This is followed by "Family Intervention, Support, and Social Policy" (10 papers), which covers a range of approaches to supporting families, from individual counseling to social policy. A concluding essay, "Looking Ahead," considers the effects on families of the Internet, scientific advances (particularly psychopharmacology), and residential services. (Individual papers and the essays contain references.) (DB)